St. Matthew Passion
by Johann Sebastian Bach · Matthäus-Passion
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1727, revised 1736
- Form
- Lyric poetry
- Language
- German
- Length
- Short · 90 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendSt. Matthew Passion, Vocal ScoreBärenreiter, 1974The Urtext vocal score, with the German text; a libretto with translation comes with most recordings.
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A setting for soloists, two choirs and two orchestras of chapters 26 and 27 of Matthew's Gospel in Luther's German, first performed at St. Thomas's church in Leipzig on Good Friday 1727. The Evangelist sings the narrative in recitative, with Jesus, Peter, Pilate, Judas and the crowds taking their own words, and the story pauses for arias and chorales, on texts by Picander and from Lutheran hymns, in which the congregation reflects on what has happened. It runs from the plot against Jesus and the anointing at Bethany through the Last Supper, Gethsemane, the trial and crucifixion to the burial. St. John's reads it as a text in the sophomore seminar.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns St. Matthew Passion are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
